Gamilara phoenixes are extremely intelligent and very sociable. If allowed to grow bored, they will fly around the Keep until they find someone to talk with. Unfortunately, they care nothing for the niceties of time and place, and so are often shooed out of classrooms. A few teachers will allow them to stay, usually ones whose classes feature long lectures that the birds enjoy listening to. As adults, gamilaras are selective in how much luck they bespell a person with. Magi who have studied them believe that gamilaras have a complicated system relating particular songs with a relative amount of luck, but have not yet been able to exactly document this. Magi who have gamilaras for companions laugh at the idea that these birds would ever let anyone know all their secrets, because then who would pay attention to them?

Gamilara phoenixes are found on almost all the islands that form the Candle archipelago. They are treasured by the people of the islands for their uniquely powerful song spells: A gamilara may bestow strong luck upon the individual of its choosing. Each village is home to flocks of the intelligent and talkative birds, and taking care of them is a prized honor among the village children. From the time they hatch, gamilaras will spend most hours of their day studying the songs of their parents and other adult birds in the flock. These songs are crafted by the phoenixes to bring luck upon the village and the island. Gamilara phoenixes have a rather keen sense of the dramatic as well, and will often fly out to a favorite sailor's ship to engage in a long debate about how the sailor has been ignoring the bird for the last several days. Once the gamilara feels it has been spoiled and fussed over enough to make up for the supposed slight, it will take its leave, trilling a song of extra luck as it goes.